Mel Brooks Doc Set At HBO From Judd Apatow

HBO is working on a two-part documentary about comedy legend Mel Brooks.

Judd Apatow is directing the untitled doc with Michael Bonfiglio after the pair directed George Carlin’s American Dream together. It is now in production.

The docu is an “expansive yet intimate look at one of comedy’s most hilarious and influential minds, whose work has had audiences around the world laughing for more than 70 years”, per HBO.

It comes from HBO Documentary Films and Apatow Productions with Kevin Salter exec producing and Joe Beshenkovsky editing.

It marks the latest Mel Brooks doc to air on HBO; the network aired Mel Brooks: Unwrapped, originally a BBC production, in 2020.

“I went into comedy because of my love for Mel Brooks. This project is the dream of a lifetime,” said Apatow.

It is the latest documentary for Apatow, who directed Bob and Don: A Love Story and The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling.

The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up director has long talked about his love for Brooks. In a story for the Atlantic, he wrote, “I’m always looking for a way to get near Mel Brooks. Can you blame me? He has acted in, directed, produced, and written some of the most memorable films in human history—among them The Producers, Blazing Saddles, History of the World, Part I, and Spaceballs. He is the reason I went into comedy. As a young man, I obsessively watched his films and his appearances on late-night television. I would listen to his 2000 Year Old Man albums—in which Mel played the character of an ancient man explaining the origins of humanity—and dream of having the same job as him.”

In addition to The Producers, Blazing Saddles, History of the World, Part I, and Spaceballs, Brooks’ film and TV work also includes The Twelve Chairs, Silent Movie, Mad About You and Get Smart.

The 98-year old, who has EGOT status, began his career as a writer on Sid Caesar’s variety show Your Show of Shows and created The 2000 Year Old Man with Carl Reiner. Last year, he wrote and produced History of the World, Part II for Hulu.